Last week I attended the CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) Institute held in Washington, DC. The Institute is “the” meeting for the various parts of the CDFI industry. It is put on by the CDFI Coalition which provides opportunity for CDFIs and their many partners, including the full spectrum of community development finance funders and researchers, to create a unified voice in support of the position of CDFIs in the nation’s financial services spectrum. It primarily focuses on education, advocacy and leadership efforts on federal legislative and policy matters.
Jennifer Deuber (Director of Communication) and Valerie Heiby (Director of Development) were with me on the trip and in spite (or because) of their best efforts I was re-elected to the Coalition’s board of directors. In addition the board, through some slip-up in procedure, ended up electing me as Treasurer of the board. Though I ran a covertly non-existent campaign that backfired, I am honored to accept this role.
It is an exciting time for CDFIs. They are being identified and recognized as a part of the nation’s financial services industry that has long been a stable and credible provider of community lending. That recognition is resulting in additional resources and confidence as a player in economic recovery of the country. We heard at the Institute that the Obama administration believes that CDFIs have a key role in recovery and ongoing community stability. It is our hope that Congress will come to the same conclusion.
